Probe 1ELECTRIC MOTORMotor and ClutchMotor temporarily installedCurtis installed, not wiredController mountedRear BatterysFront batteries
OwnerBrian Mathis
Owner's Other EVs2013 Chevrolet Volt
1997 Chevrolet S-10
1994 Chevrolet S-10
2012 Chevrolet Volt
LocationColgate, Wisconsin United States map
Email email image
Vehicle1989 Ford Probe
Engine was blown.
Motor 12 Series Wound DC
Forklift motor
DrivetrainFWD
ControllerCurtis 1231C
500 Amp, mounted on a water cooled heat sink.
Batteries12, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Gel
System Voltage144 Volts
ChargerZivan NG3
110V
DC/DC ConverterIota 45
Used on "E2", blew a cap, replaced 200v 1000uf cap, found it only works with positive and negative connected in a certain way (blew 1/2 of the rectifier)
Instrumentation0-500 analog amp meter
Curtis fuel gage
Top Speed65 MPH (104 KPH)
50 so far, could've gone faster... had to go slow, no power brakes at the time, and might have been driving in a 55mph zone (cannot confirm nor deny).
AccelerationPretty darn good!
Range20 Miles (32 Kilometers)
eventually expect 30 when the batteries are worn in 50-75 cycles.
Watt Hours/Mile19500 Wh/Mile
Doesn't seem right at all! I was doing 45, maintaining speed, was at 150 amps, and 130 volts.
EV Miles
Current:430 Miles (692 Kilometers)
Seating Capacity4 adults
Tiresstreet, crapy, same ones the car sat with for two years.
Conversion TimeBlood, sweat, no tears yet. 2 days to pull ice crap after spending a week to see if it could be fixed. 3 days making adapter plate and install motor. 2 days installing a wiring batteries. 3 days replacing rusted brake lines.
Conversion Cost$5050.00 +/-
$250 car
$98 towing
$80 car battery
$0 Forklift motor
$1500 Curtis 1231C
$1200 Trojan Batteries
$200 Iota dc-dc
$108 Aluminum for trans adapter
$206.04 Main contactor, manual shutoff
$100 brake crap
$1300 Zivan 144V charger (cloud Electric)
Additional FeaturesGoing as cheap as possible. Will be used as a grocery getter and a electric club car, to show electric possibilities.

Never drive it, removed all parts and junked the body. Will use the parts on a new project.
A group of like minded builders meets twice a month in Milwaukee, WI to work on their cars, help each other out, and find materials. Anyone interested in joining us please e-mail me.


22 Feb 09- Started pulling engine.
03 Mar 09- Picked up forklift motor, measured, it'll fit.
22 Mar 09- Finished pulling engine.
29 Mar 09- Measured elec to trans, need to make a 2-3/8" adapter plate.
4 Apr 09- Started welding / fabricating aluminum adapter plate. Motor fits nicely.
10 Apr 09- Installed motor, adapter, tested with 12V, OK
11 Apr 09- Reset odometer to 000000.0
15 Apr 09- Tested speedometer with 4 6V Trojans, 5th gear.
23 Apr 09- Ordered a main contactor and a manual shutoff. Cloud electric
25 Apr 09- Installed manual shut-off next to shifter on passenger side.
22 May 09- Pulling Curtis from my S10, will install as soon as S10 is running.
6 June 09- Used my other electric truck and jumper cables to "jump" start the E3! Temp wired the Curtis in to see if everything was OK and got 80 mph with wheels up, not even trying! Fabricated and welded a mount for the Curtis with a WATER COOLED HEAT SINK I made out of aluminum!
5 Jun 09- Installed main relay.
29 Jun 09- Ordered 12 -12V batteries from SBS
30 Jun 09- Installed throttle, and "on" relay to Curtis.
6 Jul 09- Installed battery frames-3 times! Measure 3 times, install once? Batteries installed in front and rear, almost done wiring.
19 Jul 09- Decided to use the 48V coil, wired it, and drove a mile. Hard shifting to second, motor is large and seems to keep rotating fast. No brakes yet, leak in the line, so I used the e-brake. Brakes are next! Then tires, battery charger, dc-dc converter...
20 Jul 09- Plugged rear brake lines till I can double flare... Drove 2 miles, 45 mph max, but kept slow due to brake issue.
23 Jul 09- Found more brake line leaks, replaced lines, tried to bleed, broke bleed screw off. Its fighting me!!!
24 Jul 09- replaced caliper thingy, bled brakes. Drove 6+ miles @ over 50 mph, slowed down at 50, could've gone way faster. Need to adjust hyd clutch.
28 Jul 09- Drove to bank, found I can accelerate descently in 2nd, then shift to 4th, and 5th at top end.
30 Jul 09- Found out why the clutch doesn't engage good enough. I made the adapter plate 1/2" too wide. Removed motor, Cut adapter plate in half and will shave it tomorrow.
31 Jul 09- Shaved adapter plate, re-installed, welded, rotated motor slightly to get cables away from CV joint, now had to highly modify adapter plate, now CV joint rubs motor, modified CV to motor mount, had to modify motor mount, bled clutch, it freakin works now!
3 Aug 09- Re-wired Iota. Swapped the pos and neg wires and it works now. Must have blown half the rectifier circuit. Bought tubes/fittings for water cooling the Curtis
13 Aug 09- Zivan charger installed, and even though I haven't driven far, it charging like there's no tomorrow, which means the S10 is not fully charging.
16 Aug 09- Installed the Curtis 1231-C cooling system I made.
17 Aug 09- Car stopped 1/3 of a block from home and wouldn't go. Found the main contactor was loosing electricity through the side. I might have a 48V coiled 48V contactor. The tag was ripped off when I recieved it. Another is on order.
30 Aug 09- Still waiting for main contactor.
5 Sep 09- Installed new contactor
8 Sep 09- Installed amp meter
10 Sep 09- Installed voltmeter
4 Sep 09- Voltmeter failed
8 Sep 09- Installed charger plug in gas fill door.
5 Nov 09- Installed a Curtis fuel gage I pulled from a forklift
23 Jan 10- One battery froze/burst!? System voltage = 0V. Will take back to Storage Battery Systems for an exchange.
14 Mar 10- Left the Electric truck alone long enough to go for a 5 mile cruise. Why am I selling this? Coca-Cola is letting me charge at work, so maybe get rid of the S10 and drive this full time? I love the S10 though!
2 May 10- Painted the hood, drove 5 miles, thinking of driving to work and charging there, but don't trust the tires (dryrot)
2 May 10- Simulated drive to work, went 16.8 miles, more than needed, and had plenty left. Don't trust tires though...

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